


Tears In Heaven

by ArchieWrites



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Author Cried While Writing This, Brotherly Love, Castiel Loves Dean Winchester, Castiel Loves Gabriel, Depressing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ends With Hammer of the Gods, Episode: s05e19 Hammer of the Gods, Everyone Needs A Hug, Gabriel Deserves Better, Gabriel takes care of Castiel, Headcannon Hammer Of the Gods, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Major Character Injury, Major Character Violence, Protective Gabriel, Sad Castiel, Sad Ending, cas is hurt, light destiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 02:13:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13730970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArchieWrites/pseuds/ArchieWrites
Summary: The 5 times Gabriel took care of Cas and the 1 time he didn’t.





	Tears In Heaven

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Charlie572](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charlie572/gifts).



> I’m so so so sorry for this. 
> 
>  
> 
> Special thanks to my lovely friend @Charlie572 for inspiring me <3

The tiny Seraph cried loudly in agony. The fragile bone in his little wing had been crushed underneath the weight of Balthazar’s foot, and it was the most excruciating feeling he’d ever experienced in his short life span.

“Hey, Cassie.. sh sh sh..” Gabriel gently scooped the child up with careful arms, kissing his favorite little brother’s tanned forehead.

Castiel made grabby hands at Gabriel, a signal that he wanted to be picked up and held. However, Gabriel was unable to fulfill the fledglings desires, since his hands were busy examining the aching wing.

“Don’t cry, okay? You’re strong and brave, like a warrior.”

Cas held his breath as fat tears continued to trickle down his chubby cheeks. A squeak rumbled in the little one’s throat, followed by a tiny whimper. He sucked in a ragged breath, trying to suppress his crying fit.

“Cassie, you can breathe.”

Gabriel deemed the wing as sprained, thankfully no further injuries were present. If it had been broken, the healing process would be much worse.

Castiel forced a hoarse breath past his lips and continued to cry at a deafening volume.

Gabriel put cautious fingers over the damaged appendage, his white light spreading its soothing warmth over the injury. Underneath the healing touch, Cas’ sprained wing was relieved of its searing pain.

Slowly, steadily, Castiel ceased his crying. When Gabriel released his wing, the child moved it about a few times just to reassure himself that it was fully functional.

“See? All better, my little one.”

Castiel leapt up and hugged Gabriel, not allowing him to escape the embrace until he returned the hug. Eventually, he did, just before planting a loving kiss onto Cas’ raven hair.

* * *

 

Castiel rested his chin on tiny knees, wrapping his thin arms around himself. Lonesome blue eyes watched the other young angels frolic in the lush grasses and magnificent gardens, unable to stop the jealousy bubbling in his chest.

The archangel was walking about the gardens of heaven when he saw the child who he’d cared for quite some time now. He noticed that Castiel was sitting alone, whereas the other angels were play-fighting with their friends.

A pang of sadness struck Gabriel like a rock. How could they leave him like that? Castiel was definitely the most interesting angel in heaven. Besides him, of course.

“What’s up, little one? Shouldn’t you be with Balthazar or Samandriel?”

The archangel sat down on the sleek, white bench next to his baby brother.

“They don’t like me.” Castiel rested his head on his older brother’s shoulders, searching for any form of comfort in his vulnerable state.

“You are more powerful than all of them, you’re a warrior, remember? Go talk to them.” He brushed away the hair that had fallen in front of Castiel’s forehead. “Be brave, my little one.”

“Like you?” Castiel tilted his head and widened his doe eyes at his older brother, innocence blatantly obvious.

“Sure kiddo.” Gabriel ruffled his boy’s hair and gently hugged him, “Now, go on then.” His parental love was expressed with a quick peck to Castiel’s forehead, followed quickly by swiping away the teardrops with the pad of his thumb.

Castiel popped up to his feet and ran after the children playing in the beautiful gardens of heaven, leaving Gabriel alone with his thoughts.

* * *

 

“Please don’t go..” Castiel whispered in a fragile voice, barely audible to even archangel hearing.

Gabriel cupped Castiel’s wet cheeks in his caring hands. “Cassie, you have to be strong.” The Archangel chewed the inside of his cheek to stop himself from tearing up. “Remember Cassie, Be who you want to be, not who what others want you to be.” He was never one to be sentimental, but he had a soft spot for Castiel.

Castiel’s eyes pooled in sorrowful tears, wordlessly begging Gabriel to not leave heaven. His bottom lip trembled with desperation as Gabriel forced him to make eye contact.

“Promise me you’ll give yourself the happiness you deserve.” Gabriel couldn’t help but let a few tears of his own slip away, making tiny trails of sorrow down his face.

Castiel put his arms around Gabriel’s wrists, trying to hold onto his brother as long as he could. “I promise.”

There was a pause as they relished each other’s presence for what they assumed was the last time.

“You’re not coming back, are you?” Castiel stifled a terribly emotional sob as Gabriel shook his head hesitantly.

Gabriel planted a delicate kiss on Cas’ forehead, worried that the Seraph would break like a vase underneath his fingertips. “I love you. I love you more than Micheal, more than Lucifer. I know you’ll make me proud. You always do.”

Castiel desperately hugged him as he felt the world crumble beneath his feet. He couldn’t bear to see his brother leave. Gabe was the only stable thing Cas’ life. Gabriel raised him and taught him about humanity; he’d been Castiel’s best friend since the beginning of creation.

Gabriel wrapped his arms around his younger brother and rested his chin on top of Castiel’s neatly styled hair. They remained like this for awhile, neither being fully prepared to leave the other.

“I have to go.” Gabriel finally whispered and broke apart from Castiel reluctantly. “Be strong and brave, my little one.”

Castiel watched as his brother slipped past the gates, never again to step foot in heaven.

Little did he know, they’d meet once again on earth within a few centuries.

* * *

 

Castiel was unexpectedly brought into the TV show dimension, courtesy of the Trickster. Upon seeing Loki and the Winchesters, Castiel gave them questioning looks.

“Cassie..” Gabriel couldn’t help but smile just a bit when he saw how beautifully his brother has blossomed. He was now a fierce warrior, fighting for the human race. “You look so grown up.”

Castiel’s eyes went wide as his head snapped back to Gabriel, jaw set and brow knitted. It was the most emotion Castiel had expressed on his face since he was a child.

“Is it really you?” Castiel whispered with such vulnerability that it was enough to make God do a double-take.

“Yes it is, little one.” Gabriel reassuringly nodded, trying to reassure his brother that it really was him.

“Oh my god.” Castiel sprinted to Gabriel, arms outstretched and smile blinding.

“What the hell Cas?!” Dean angrily yelled at the delusional idiot who he was hopelessly (not) in love with. The Trickster was a douchebag— how did Castiel know who he was?

They crushed each other in horribly tight hugs, both brothers feeling a sense of relief roll over them as they finally reunited.

“Uh, Sam? You seeing this too?” Dean murmured to his brother, not used to seeing Castiel in such a delicate state.

“Yeah..” Sam trailed off distantly as his thoughts raced to the point of incoherence.

It was unnatural to see Castiel cry; his angel was a clueless idiot who was unable to understand social norms. He wasn’t emotional. The whole situation was mind-boggling to Dean.

Castiel balled his brother’s shirt into clenched fists, grasping Gabe as if he would disappear forever.

Tears rolled down Gabriel’s face, the built up pain and emotion from over the years finally being released in one hug. “Be strong, little one. I’m here. Don’t worry.”

Castiel choked on his horrid sob as he nodded repeatedly into the crook of Gabriel’s neck.

* * *

 

Gabriel had been spending every waking second with his younger brother, much to the Winchesters’ disappointment.

Ultimately, Gabriel had been redeemed of his mischievous schemes when Castiel told Sam and Dean stories of his childhood. They were shocked to find out Gabriel was an archangel, but they accepted it nonetheless.

  
“Why me?” Castiel suddenly asked when Sam and Dean went into the Gas-N-Sip.

The angels had been left in the Impala, their immunity to feeling temperature proving useful in the piercing heat of summer.

“What do you mean?” Gabriel quizzically looked up from his hands, where he was toying with an aluminum can.

“There were thousands of fledglings. Why’d you only raise me?”

Gabriel folded the metal into a flat surface before he responded simply with: “You cried.”

“How is that significant?” Castiel tilted his head, just like he did as a child. Some habits never change.

“Angels don’t cry. They don’t emit bodily fluids. Except, of course a selected few.” Gabriel folded over the corners of the can, “I was the only archangel who cried. It’s Dad’s way of selecting the black sheep, I guess.”

Castiel watched Gabriel’s gaze shift back down to the can, most likely shielding away his incoming emotions. Both Gabe and The Winchesters did that quite often, Cas noticed.

“We are more than black sheep. We’re the ones who protect humanity. We’re the good guys.” Castiel turned his body to face Gabriel’s, “We don’t follow blindly. We’re different, but it’s not a bad kind of different”

Gabriel folded his metallic origami one last time and held up the newly created aluminum swan to Castiel. “I’m proud of you, Cassie. Don’t forget that. Because you’re the bravest warrior I’ve ever met.”

Castiel took the tiny art project and watched it gleam brightly as it reflected the sun. “As are you.”

* * *

 

Dean and Sam were driving down the highway at breakneck speed when Castiel appeared in the back seat.

The car, per usual, swiveled from a surprised jolt of the steering wheel.

A moment passed where neither Dean nor Sam made an effort to begin dialogue. They didn’t want to see their best friend’s heart get crushed.

“Where’s Gabriel?” The angel’s voice was heart shattering, given the current situation. It was like hearing a bloodcurdling scream erupt in an empty void of silence.

“The hotel we were just at.. Elysian Fields Hotel.. it’s a, uh, fake hotel. In Muncie, Indiana. Lucifer came.. Killed everyone. We’re not positive, but.. Gabe.... there could be a possible chance.... we’re pretty sure he’s..” Sam trailed off, not wanting to further upset their friend. Upsetting Castiel was bound to happen, though, since the guy who raised him tried to kill Satan.

Castiel was gone in an instant, now standing at the doors of the hotel. He could sense that Lucifer had left the premises, so their was no impending threat.

Cas barged through the doors, looking thoughtfully through the corpse-riddled corridors in search of Gabriel.

He stopped short when he turned to his left, where the heavy shadow of death felt strongest. Cas found his older brother holding a stab wound that had a faint trickle of grace tumbling out of the bloody opening.

The Seraph made a strangled noise as he rushed to Gabe. He quickly got on his knees, gently picking up Gabriel’s head to rest on his thighs so breathing would be easier.

“Cassie..” Gabriel’s clenched teeth were covered with a thin coating of blood, turning the whites into a murderous pink tint.

“Gabe, please.. please you’ll be okay, we’ll just— we can still fix you, I can heal you and everything’ll be okay..” Castiel unconvincingly whispered as he brushed away the golden hair out of Gabriel’s face. Vaguely, Castiel recalled when Gabe brushed away his raven hair when Cas was excluded from the other young children all those years ago.

  
“I need.. y-you to stop.. holding back... To.. confess your love... to that stupid hunter..” Gabriel painfully winced through each syllable, letting out a forceful laugh at the end of his sentence.

Castiel nodded profusely, eyes welling up with salty tears as he balled up Gabriel’s blood soaked shirt into his clenched fists, just like he had done when they first reunited on Earth.

“Pr-promise me.. you’ll give—” Gabriel took a ragged breath, “—yourself.... the happin-ness you.. deserve.” The quote was the same one Gabriel used just before leaving heaven— Castiel’s eidetic memory helpfully reminded him.

Castiel sobbed hoarsely as he tried to cling onto whatever sanity he had left. “I promise.. I promise, I love you..” he tried to heal the fatal laceration the same way Gabe healed Cas’ sprained wing when he was a fledgling.

It was useless; Gabriel was far too close to the brink of death. Castiel wasn’t able to reel him back in.

“Don’t leave, please.. please..” Castiel felt a sense of Déjà vu strike him; the last time Gabriel left him, he barely recovered. How could he this time?

“Cassie.. I on-nly.. s-said t-to.. be strong b-because I w-was weak..” Gabriel admitted seriously, his vision becoming splotchy as he was pushed closer and closer to the edge.

“You take care of others more than you take care of yourself. That’s not what a weak person does. It’s what the most mighty and fearless warriors do.” Castiel cupped onto Gabriel’s cheeks with sincere brotherly love. Gabriel grabbed his wrists, knowing this would be the last time they would see each other. A handprint of Gabriel’s blood found itself on Castiel’s left wrist, making the younger shudder in a horrified manner.

“Th..thank yo-you...” Gabriel’s voice was getting more distant with each passing second. He winced and choked up more blood, darkening his teeth and tongue with the color of murder.

“You don’t have to hold on anymore. Let go Gabe. I love you.” Castiel’s eyes were fully operating rivers at this point, dipping onto his brother’s cheeks below him.

“I’m pr-roud of you.. I’m so.. s-so proud... of you.. m-my li-ittle.. o-one...” Gabriel whispered in a frail, breathy voice.

The archangel’s hands limply dropped from Castiel’s wrists, thudding against the cool hardwood like two claps of thunder.

Cas watched his brother’s body go limp through a haze of tears. His magnificently majestic wings were singed into the ground, marking the floors with the ashen touch of death. He had truly slipped away.

“No! No, please, no! GABRIEL!” Castiel sobbed harder as he helplessly shook his brother’s motionless body, wanting him to just latch on just a little longer. Despite what he said, he didn’t want Gabriel to leave.

The life faded from his golden eyes, which were now a dull shade of dark bronze. There was no sparkle of mischief, no shine of teary sadness. Just a blank, expressionless gaze up into Castiel’s haunted stare.

The creation that bubbled from his chest and pumped into his entire life force was now a bleak memory. His archangel grace had spilled out of his body, like dispersing mist on a cool morning.

There was nothing physical left of his brother; no happiness, no humor, nor crazy antics. Just a dead vessel and ash wings.

“God.. please bring him back, please. It doesn’t matter if he’s human— I just— please, Father.” Cas whispered in a strained voice, his eyes squeezing shut as he combed his fingers through Gabriel’s hair, just waiting for him to pop back to his feet and say something sarcastic.

Castiel would have been relieved at first, then maybe he’d ignore Gabriel out of anger, and they’d eventually laugh about it.

But Gabriel never got back up.

His corpse said nothing; it did nothing. Just remained a still version of the once energetic brother who he loved with all his heart.

“Cas..” Dean whispered from the doorway of the room, not wanting them to be present when the police arrived. They wouldn’t be able to explain the dead bodies, mutilated body parts in the kitchen, or gigantic pair of weird wings on the floor.

Castiel brushed his thumb over Gabriel’s warm cheek and leaned over the person who’d accepted him, rather than seeing him a freak like most of the angels. “He was the only person who understood me. He made me the angel I am today.”

This was the day Gabriel became a memory. Now, whenever anybody would talk about him, they would talk in past tense, rather than present tense. Castiel would spend the late hours of night (when he was alone and his mind would wander) weeping and grieving because his brother’s eternal life was turned into a temporary one.

Dean knelt down and wrapped his arm around Castiel’s neck; a wordless promise that he would be here for Cas throughout the grieving process.

Castiel gently closed Gabriel’s eyelids, praying that he was somewhere peaceful. Somewhere he could annoy bystanders with his schemes, and fuck with people just for the hell of it. Because anything else would be uncharacteristic, for Gabriel, it’d be imprisonment.

“I don’t care if you thought you were afraid and weak. You were my hero. You are my hero. You always will be.” His voice was reduced to a hoarse whisper as his tears fell onto Gabriel’s cheek. “I’ll make sure you’re never forgotten. Your name will be eternal. Just as you were supposed to be.”

Castiel kissed Gabriel’s forehead, just as the archangel would do when Cas was a fledgling.

He wiped Gabriel’s cheeks free of tears and bit his trembling lip. He held on one last time, just one more time to cherish the peaceful expression on his face.

Gabriel was never one to act like an angel, but he sure looked like one. The kind of angel described in the Bible— the kind that looked truly beautiful and glorious.

He gently set Gabe’s head on the ground, carefully backing away from the body before unleashing his loud sobs bottled inside of him.

Dean pulled Castiel into a hug, soothingly rubbing small circles into his violently shaking back. “You don’t have to be stronger brave anymore, I’m here to hold you up.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I sobbed so hard while writing the end. 
> 
>  
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcome <3  
> I hope you enjoyed!


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